Crystal Ice
by imwxstingmytime
Summary: Amanda, Nerissa, Aidan, William, Justin and Nathan were only six teens that somehow found each other after stumbling to a camp for misfits, discovering who they really were. After finding out one of them has betrayed them, and that an old primordial goddess has been seized, they embark on a wild journey to try to salvage the only world that they knew.


**Please don't hate this story. This is my first time writing a story on this website. If you want to write a review, please make it helpful. Thanks**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except for Amanda, Aidan, Nerissa, William, Justin and Nathan. (Though I wish I did own the Percy Jackson characters...;-;)**

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 **Nerissa's POV:**

I walked around the school grounds afterschool, cradling my bruised arm. I had just been kicked down the steps of my school by some of my fellow classmates just because I was dyslexic and had ADHD. What was wrong with my life? Maybe jumping out the window would help end my misery. I seriously considered that as I wandered around, hoping I would be able to see Ellie. She always brought my mood up. She was my one friend, the only one who wouldn't tease me. Suddenly, I spotted a blond head. Ellie! I quickly ran to her and skidded to a stop. Her blue eyes twinkled. "Hey Rissa." She said in her angel's voice. "How was your day?"

You see what I mean? She brings up my mood everywhere. "Hey El. You know how it is. Same old, same old."

She nodded sympathetically. "I hope they're not hurting you."

I looked away and covered my arm. Ellie noticed my eyes shifting away from her face. "Nerissa!" She said, a bit more panicked than usual. "Did they actually hurt you?!"

I shook my head. "It's nothing, Ellie." I mumbled. "You don't need to worry about it. I'm fine."

"You're not fine, Rissa! You can't just let them-them hit you like that! That's just wrong! You have to stand up for yourself."

"You're right, Ellie. I'm sorry. I should've just punched them in the face. I totally wouldn't have gotten in trouble for that." I replied sarcastically. Her mood seemed to wilt and I realized that I sounded, in fact, very mean. I quickly amended, "No, I didn't mean that, Ellie. I'm really sorry. You're right."

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you what and what not to do. It's my fault."

"No, it's my fault." We laughed half-heartedly together. "Friends forever?" Ellie asked, opening her arms. I nodded and said, "Friends forever" and went into her embrace like a marshmallow into a cup of hot chocolate.

After talking for another good fifteen minutes, I really had to go back home. I dragged my feet along the concrete sidewalk and walked up the steps to my house's front door. I fished around for my key and opened the heavy oak door. Inside, I could smell the wonderful scent of orange juice. Immediately, my day brightened. I slung my backpack off of my shoulder and threw it on the couch and raced for the kitchen. As I had suspected, my dad was at the counter making orange juice. I smiled at the sight of so much orange juice. My father smiled at me over her shoulder. "Hey honey." He said. "How was school?"

I looked away, embarrassed. "It was fine." I lied. "School was great."

"Honey, don't feel so bad. You can tell me. How is your dyslexia?"

"Dad, I already told you that I'm okay. I'm even getting a 75 in English. It's okay."

"Nerissa, that is amazing!" He turned around to smile wide at me. "I knew you could do it." He reached into the cabinet above the sink and grabbed a tall glass, filling it with freshly-squeezed orange juice. He placed it in front of me with a plate of orange slices and I smiled. "Thanks Dad."

"No problem, Nerissa." He replied. We talked more about how well I was doing and how Ellie was a good influence on me.

After dinner, I was working on my homework. As usual, the letters swam all over the place, changing into this and that and making my head hurt. I pushed away from my desk and stared at my wall of drawings. Drawing was my secret passion. No one knew about my drawings except for my dad. There was one in the middle, one that my dad had said that my mom had given me when I was a baby. It was a picture of the Fountain of Youth and a youthful-looking woman beside it. The woman was beautiful. She had dark brown hair and a wrinkle-free face. Her smile blinded me. My dad said that she was my mother, when I asked about her one evening. She gives me strength. As I was inspecting the picture, my dad burst into my room, breathing hard and holding my backpack in his hands. I looked at him, annoyed. "Have you ever been taught to knock?" I asked.

"There's no time to knock, Nerissa. Pack everything you need, now. I need to get you to Camp Half-Blood." My dad wheezed out, panting.

"Wait, what?" My dad didn't respond. He started packing clothes and toiletries into my backpack. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"Nerissa. I'll tell you everything on the ride over, all right?" He said. "There's not much time."

He filled my backpack up until it almost couldn't zip up. Then, he said, "Come with me." He left, going back down the stairs.

I looked back at my drawings and took the one that my mom had supposedly given to me. Then, I took my one art set and went downstairs.

My dad was driving me somewhere I didn't recognize. He did explain everything to me. The only thing was, I didn't understand a word of it. I kept having him retell me everything he said. "Wait. Dad. Are you saying that I'm only half a human being? How does that relate to anything?" I asked, puzzled.

"Okay, so Nerissa, the camp that I am taking you to is...special. It's for people like you who have dyslexia and ADHD." He explained patiently.

"So, I'm going to a camp for losers? Thanks, but no thanks. I already know I'm a loser."

"No, Nerissa, not everyone can get into it. Only people like you can." He paused. "Never mind. Chiron will explain everything in better format than I will. When you get there, please ditch your phone."

"Dad, I don't _have_ a phone. You never gave one to me, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Nerissa, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm trying to save you here. A Cyclops is coming after you. You emit a very strong smell that monsters are very attracted to. When you get to the camp, you'll be safe."

Suddenly, the ground vibrated. My dad cursed. "I thought we had more time!" He said. He pressed his foot on the gas pedal and we shot forward. The vibrations were getting louder and were making our car fly.

"Dad, what's happening?! I don't understand!" I yelled in fear.

Something banged into back of our car and I screamed. My dad swore and he pressed the gas pedal even more. "Come on, come on!" He yelled. "We're almost there!"

As we were nearing something, I noticed a nice green field of strawberries. They looked so plump and ripe. My dad stopped right in front of the strawberry patches and yelled, "Nerissa, get out of the car and run into the strawberry fields! I'll hold off the Cyclops for as long as I can." He muttered under his breath, "Let's see if I can still fight, without the Sight."

I scrambled out of the car and clutched my backpack to my chest. I heard the vibrations from behind me and slowly turned to face a huge, bulky monster with one eye. I screamed and ran backwards, accidentally tripping on a weed and falling. I scraped my hands on the asphalt, my blood running through the cracks in the ground. The monster sniffed the air and roared, turning to face me. It lowered its head and charged for me. I screamed again and looked around desperately for my dad or any weapon. "Help!" I screamed."Help!"

My dad looked at me and took in a sharp breath. He yelled, "Over here!" He waved a red cloth. "Come and get me, you ugly one-eyed son of a-"

The Cyclops roared again and charged at my dad, who brandished a hunting knife. He ran straight at the monster and sliced at the monster. My dad missed the monster by inches. It punched my dad in the face and sent him flying, his nose pouring blood. I screamed as my dad crumpled to the ground and didn't get up. The Cyclops obviously heard me and turned its bulky weight to face me. I quickly got to my feet and looked around for the knife. It was behind the monster, a couple of feet away from my dad. I sighed internally. Of course I had to get by the monster before I could have a weapon. I left my backpack off to the side and my heart pounded as I faced the monster. It charged at me and I quickly ran to the side, making it ram into a tree, breaking the tree in half. I ran straight for the knife and grabbed it, testing its weight. I had never fought with a knife before and didn't know if I knew how to fight. But before I could do anything, I was whipped thirty feet into the air. As I was freefalling, my knife fell out of my hand and fell-straight into the monster's leg. It screamed in agony and dissipated into golden dust. I fell to the ground, my arms getting fresh scratches. I heard a definite _crack_ but I didn't know whether I had broken my leg or my arm. I dragged myself up. I could stand, meaning my leg wasn't broken. Then, I gingerly touched my left arm. Fire exploded within my arm and I winced. Quickly, I scooped up the fallen hunting knife and limped over to my fallen dad, crouching down beside him. I was getting a bit dizzy from the pain but I shook my head to clear it. I poked my dad in the arm. "Dad? Dad? Are you okay?" I asked urgently, to no avail. He was not responding. "Dad! Talk to me!" No response. I sobbed, tears tracking down my face. "Dad!"

From the strawberry fields, a blond girl and a black-haired boy emerged. They raced over to me and the blond girl asked, "What just happened?"

"My dad-my dad's not responding. There was a Cyclops and it hurt my dad and I killed it and now I don't know what to do with my dad. Can you get some help?" I asked.

"Um, well-our camp-we can't exactly take mortals in," The blond girl said, looking at the black-haired boy. "Only demigods can pass through and your dad isn't one."

"Then what do I do?!" I wailed. "I can't just leave him here!" My head was beginning to hurt from all the shouting.

"Well...we can drive him to the hospital but we need to get you to safety first." The boy said. "Come on. Annabeth'll help you and I'll drive your dad to the hospital."

The girl-Annabeth-looked at him and nodded at me. "Yeah. I'll bring you to Will. He'll help you. Percy, don't attract any monsters, all right?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I won't." Percy grabbed the keys from my dad's pocket and dragged my dad to the car, pulling him inside.

Annabeth helped me up and slung an arm around my shoulders. I got dizzy just standing up and Annabeth looked at me, concerned. "Are you okay?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay." Right after I said that, I felt so very tired. Like all the energy had just flowed out of me, sapping my strength. My eyes were closing but I forced them open. I was so so tired. Without noticing, my eyes closed and I fell into the dark embrace of sleep.

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 **Amanda's POV:**

I walked out of my school, holding a letter for my mom, hanging my head in shame. I had just been kicked out of my seventh and most favourite high school. Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes as I quickly crossed the parking lot to my car. As I reached it, I tripped over something and fell on my face, my letter flying out of my hand. Laughter rang out behind me. "Oh, here's Four-Eyes again with her clumsiness," a voice taunted. "Do you need thicker glasses or is your... _infection_ just getting in your way?" More laughter.

I slowly stood up, grabbing my letter from the ground and reluctantly facing my one nightmare. At school, everyone liked him except me. Blond, blue-eyed-he was every girl's dream boy. Except me. Ever since I met him, he had teased, taunted, and ridiculed me in front of the whole school. I was already at the bottom of the social chain, yet he made it worse by shoving me here and there. Now, I had accidentally fallen and he laughed at me. I had actually done nothing to him, but he seemed so intent on hurting me. Why? He suddenly noticed my letter in my clenched fist. "Now, what's that?" He grabbed it from me.

I tried to take it back. "Give it back, Ryan!" I yelled, trying to grab it. "It's mine and it's confidential!"

He easily batted me off, his eyes wandering over the letter. "Oh. Four-Eyes, you're leaving the school, aren't you? And for what reason? You punched a teacher in the face? How naughty of you," He tsked. "Dude, come and read this!"

One of his cronies sauntered over and read over his shoulder. He started laughing. "Four-Eyes, you're such a loser. Even I wouldn't punch a teacher. Punch me in the face, Four-Eyes. I dare you to."

I shook my head. "No, I didn't punch a teacher. And I won't punch you. Give me back the letter, Ryan." I held out my hand for the letter, but Ryan just laughed at me. " _Give it to me_!" I screamed, my anger flaring up. I tried to tone it down. "I don't want to get mad. Give the letter. To. Me."

"No way, Four-Eyes. I wanna see you mad. I wanna see you burst. Come on, show me." He said. "Get mad at me. I dare you to."

I shook my head vehemently. "No. Just give me the letter!" I tried another unsuccessful attempt to grab the letter from his hand. "Just give me it!"

"Not until you get mad, you loser!" Ryan's friend called.

A fire started up in my chest and I was surprised that I _wanted_ to get mad. My hands curled into fists and my eyes narrowed a bit. I said in a controlled voice, "Give. Me. The. Letter."

"Not until you get mad, loser." Ryan and his posse of cronies started taunting and ridiculing me, calling me names. My focus sharpened on Ryan, the supposed _leader_ of his group. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, filling me with power. A tight knot formed in my gut and I felt like something was pulling on it. The knot got tighter with every tease at me until I screamed in anger, the knot loosening. Without really knowing what was happening, the temperature fell to a freezing point and everything wilted in my sight. Flowers, weeds, grass-they all turned black and disintegrated. The four boys looked at me in fear, their teeth chattering, and Ryan shakily dropped the letter. I could feel the fire in my gut coming back, hoping hoping hoping to be let out...

I sent it free. Black smoke curled around my hands and I could almost _feel_ my eyes starting to glow an unnatural colour. Shadows came to life around me, swirling and calling out. I let it swirl around me, curling around my body as it so definitely _consumed_ me...

Ryan and his stupid friends gave a scream of fright and quickly backed away, almost tripping on the dead roots of the weeds I had killed and scrambling away as fast as they could. Through that scream, I had a bit of my humanity come back to me. I could feel the shadows trying to break through into my brain so they could consume me completely. I took a deep breath and centralized on forcing most of the evil out of my body, repelling it. I couldn't be free of the darkness, I knew that. But I could push most of it away. It wouldn't come back, would it? I looked around and saw all the destruction that I had caused. The sky seemed so unnaturally dark right now that I was actually beginning to feel afraid. I looked down at my hands. "What has become of me?" I whispered.

Just then, the principal ran outside. He had obviously seen what had happened. He came straight for me. I had never seen him so fast and furious. Suddenly, I thought I saw him change form, into a huge, hulking monster with one eye in the middle of his forehead. I gasped and he roared at me, "I CAN SMELL YOU, HALF-BLOOD!"

I didn't understand, but I never understood anything these days. I did the only thing I could think of: running. As I ran, I turned around and saw the monster. He suddenly shifted into a normal-looking principal with an angry face. My heart hammered. I had never seen this before. I ran all the way home. Why oh why didn't I bring my car? I had learned how to to drive when I was 13, when my mom still cared for me. I don't exactly know why she taught me how to drive at 13 though. It wasn't like I needed it then. I went inside, panting and saw my mom on the couch, flipping through channels mindlessly, a glass of red rum in her hand. She looked up as I came in and I could see that her eyes were bloodshot, meaning she hadn't slept in a few days. "Um...hi Mom. I'm home." I said awkwardly. She just nodded before turning back to the TV.

You could say I didn't have a good relationship with my mom. I could remember better days, when she actually helped me with my homework, when she would play freeze tag with me in the garden after school, when she would talk to me about her dreams, her ideas about the future and her day. All that is gone. The only thing that my mom can recognize from me as her daughter is that we both have the most unusually-coloured eyes: a dark blue-purple, almost like indigo, with black flecks in it. If I wore contacts, she wouldn't be able to recognize me anymore. That's how estranged we are, even though we have lived together for seventeen years. I envy the other people who have moms that take care of them, that watch over them, that tuck them in bed goodnight. I wish I had a mother like that.

During dinner, my mother said calmly, "Amanda."

I sighed internally. I knew I was going to be getting a lecture now on my expulsion. I asked resignedly, "Yeah?"

"I got an email from the school, saying you've been expelled."

"Um, yeah. I did."

"And what's this? It says here that you killed all the plants in a two-mile radius around you and scared off four innocent boys with your supposed "witchcraft." How did this happen?" She turned to me. I had never been put on the spot by my mother and this was making me uncomfortable.

"I don't exactly know what happened, Mom."

"Do you know what this means?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. I shook my head, a cold fear clutching at my chest. "You're adapting to your abilities." She whispered, half to herself. "This is not good. I thought we had more time."

"What do you mean, Mom? I don't understand." I said, confused as ever. "What do you mean, more time? I don't have different abilities. I'm just a normal girl."

"No, you're not. Amanda, come with me right now. We have to get you to Camp Half-Blood _now_. If I don't, they're going to come after you." She said. She beckoned to me and I followed her to the car. I gave her my keys and she got into the driver's seat while I went to the passenger seat. She started the car and we were roaring off. I looked into the rear view mirror, trying to see what she was maybe driving away from. I thought I saw a dark, hulking shape, but that could've been my imagination.

"Mom, can you tell me what's happening?" I asked urgently. "I don't understand a word you're saying. What's Camp Half-Blood? Who's going to come after me?"

She didn't respond as she gunned the vehicle, going faster than she had ever before. I didn't know why she seemed so tense at this moment, her hands clenched on the steering wheel. There was nothing to be afraid of. What was she talking about? She had never told me anything about a camp that I needed to go to, or how it was going to keep me safe. "I need to get you there, I need to get you there," she repeated like a mantra.

"Mom, respond to me!" I said exasperatedly. "Please just answer at least one of my questions!"

"I need to get you there, I need to get you there..."

"Mom! Please!" I was getting really frustrated. We were driving off somewhere else, somewhere that I had never seen before. "Mom, just tell me something! You're making me scared!"

She didn't respond again; she only drove even faster. This made me even more frightened. I forgot all about my questions. "Mom. Slow down. You're making me scared. Please. Mom. Slow down."

No response. It was only her stressed voice repeating her mantra, over and over again.

Suddenly, out of the dark, three people blocked our path. My mom cursed and she yanked the wheel of the car sharply to the right, the tires screeching to avoid hitting the people. I screamed. We narrowly missed hitting them. But there was more destruction to come. An almost-chopped-down tree stood in our path and we couldn't swerve around it. I screamed as the car hit the tree head-on. The car stopped and the tree wheezed, falling. I prayed that it wouldn't fall on our car. God seemed to be half on our side and half on the other. The tree bounced off the roof of our car, shattering the windshield and rolled off to the side. The glass shards sprayed over the two of us and I got cut, blood seeping down my arms. But I was more scared about my mom. She was leaning against the wheel, unmoving. I shook her shoulder. "Mom? Are you alright?" I asked frantically. "Mom!" There was no response and I didn't know if she was breathing or not. I grabbed her wrist and took a deep breath. I pressed two fingers to the inside of her wrist and concentrated.

There was no pulse.

I sobbed, dropping her wrist. "You have to be alive!" I screamed into the empty car. Then, I remembered her neck pulse. Maybe she was still alive. I hoped as I reached to her neck. Oh, please please please be alive...I prayed for my mom to be alive. I pressed my fingers to her throat and concentrated.

There was definitely no pulse there either.

Sobs racked my small frame as I came to terms with reality. My mother was gone from my life forever. I had no other family I could go to. I was an orphan. I had never known my dad. My mother was the one person who had cared for me. She was my rock, the one thing anchoring me to the world. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I whipped my head around and saw out of the broken window the three people that my mom had cost her life for. They came to me and I inhaled sharply, trying to scramble away from them. There was nowhere to go. I didn't know if they wanted to kill me or what. One of them-a blond girl-came up to the door and opened it. She said, "I don't want to hurt you." I didn't reply. She kept on talking. "I'm Annabeth, and the two guys behind me are Percy and Nico. We're here to help you. We'll bring you to safety."

"H-how do I know you don't want to hurt me? My mother-my mother cost her life trying to save you three. I don't even know who any of you are." I stammered.

"We'll bring you to Camp Half-Blood. I swear on the River Styx."

Camp Half-Blood sounded familiar. I remember my mother was trying to get me to that place. I nodded and she held out a hand. I took it and stepped out of the car, careful to not step on any glass shards. She led me out and introduced me to two black-haired boys. One of them had unusual sea-green eyes (his name was Percy), like mine and the other boy (named Nico) had eyes the colour of melted chocolate. I told them that I was Amanda and that I didn't know what was happening. Annabeth looked satisfied. "Now, we must go back to Camp Half-Blood. Oh, I hope we didn't attract anything."

Percy snorted. "Hah. That's funny. I _always_ attract monsters. Especially with Nico here, we're doomed. For sure."

"You can't speak like that!" Annabeth scolded him. "Don't jinx it!"

"No, he's right." Nico said. "I can feel something in the air."

"Um, guys?" I said tentatively. Everyone's eyes trained on me. "I think we're being followed. I don't know for sure, but I think I saw a dark shape following my car when...my mom was driving me here."

Percy gave Annabeth a long look. "See what I mean? I attract anything with my scent."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Percy, it wasn't you this time. Didn't you listen to her? The dark shape was following her, not you." Percy seemed to deflate a bit after hearing that. A corner of my mouth lifted up into a smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nico just standing off to the side, almost unnoticeable in his dark clothes with the shadows curling around him. Only his pale face showed through like a star in the night sky.

I heard a roar off to my left. Annabeth cursed. " _Di Immortales_!" She yelled, drawing out a knife. It looked like it was made out of, I don't know, _ivory_? Percy pulled out a pen. What did that have to do with anything? He uncapped it and the pen elongated into a glimmering bronze sword. The dark, hulking shape came into focus. It had one eye in the middle of its forehead and sharp teeth. Annabeth and Percy charged at it in synchronized formation. Nico stayed back but unsheathed his sword. The monster roared at them angrily and fought them, but I got the feeling that it didn't really want them. I guess Percy and Annabeth felt it too. Percy looked over his shoulder and yelled as he dodged a blow from the Cyclops and sliced the hand off, "Nico, shadow-travel with her back to Camp Half-Blood! Come and get us later! This Cyclops wants her, not us!" Percy spread his hands and a geyser of water sprayed the monster back. Were these people...like me? I could do things that no one else could, and so could Percy. Could I actually fit in somewhere for the first time in my life?

Nico shouted back, "Yeah, 'kay." He turned to me. "Close your eyes." I did as I was told. Strong arms wrapped around me and I could feel us melting into shadows.

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 **Aidan's POV:**

"I'm sorry, Aidan, but I can't do this anymore. I just...can't." Her eyes looked up at my face, searching for something, searching for a lie. "Are you for real? Like, are you really actually dyslexic? Or are you making this up?"

"Rose, I would never lie to you." I said earnestly. My hands were cupped around hers. "I am dyslexic and I have ADHD, but we can make this work. I promise. I'll try everything for you."

She looked away, the sparkle in her eye gone. She drew her hands away from mine slowly, casually, but I still felt the sting in my heart. "So...are you saying...what you just explained to me...is real? That...you actually cannot read English?"

"Yes. That's all true, Rose. I would never lie."

She backed away from me slowly. "I'm sorry, Aidan. I thought this relationship would work out. I thought wrong. It's just that...I don't know if you're exactly...my type."

"But we've been dating for three months already!" I said desperately. I didn't want to lose her. She was the one thing that anchored me to the world. She was my life, my love, my _everything_. Did she have to ruin it? We had a perfectly good three months together.

"That was before I knew you couldn't read English like a four-year-old!" She shot back, fire in her voice. "I can't be seen with...a _freak_ like you! I've got standards, you know!"

That stung me, like a thousand bees had come and poked me right in the heart, at the very core of my heart. "Then why did you date me for three months?" I asked, my voice lost to her words.

"Because I didn't know you were this freakish before. I only thought that you were sort of cute. That was the whole reason. It was because you were cute."

Just dating someone for their looks? That was worse than dating a freak. Now I realized that there really wasn't any love or chemistry between us at all. I was just in love with _love_ , in love with the idea of possible future love. I never loved her, she never loved me. But I cared for her greatly. She didn't care for me. That was what hurt most. She just liked me for my looks. She didn't see all the things underneath my facade, underneath my shell. If someone asked her what my mom's name was, she wouldn't know.

"But...but can we still patch this relationship?" I asked in a hoarse whisper. Even after all the things she said to me, I was _still_ willing to go back to her. "Can we just get over this roadblock and continue on?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Aidan," she said for the third time. "But I can't patch this with you. You just don't look the same to me anymore. I guess I never really knew you after all. You never told me this before. We can't be in a relationship if you don't tell me things."

"But you don't tell me things!" I exploded. I had never gotten mad at someone before. This fire, it _consumed_ my entire being until that was all I could think of. "You tell me to tell you things. Why don't you tell me your things, then? You're not being fair."

She didn't even respond. She just walked away, into the confines of her house. I was left standing in the front of her house all by myself. I should've known that this would happen. I was only 14, so what did I know about love?

I thought back to when we started dating. She was just a pretty girl to me, a girl with blond curls and a beautiful laugh. All the boys crushed on her, yet she was oblivious to all of them. All of them except me. She began to talk to me more, making me happier and all the other boys more jealous. I know this sounds bad, but I relished in their jealousy. I had always been the freak of the bunch and now I was the sexy, mysterious boy that the prettiest girl wanted. So, one day, when Rose and I were very comfortable with one another, I asked her out. It was on a whim. She laughed and nodded, kissing me on the cheek. That was the happiest day of my fourteen years. And, now, she ruined it. The one girl that everyone wanted dumped the freak. I should've known that that would happen.

I ran home in the dark, not caring about stopping at the curb to let cars pass by. I just kept running. When I got home, I creeped in through the back door to avoid my mom and my garbage of a stepfather. I had come back a bit too late, talking to my girlfriend-sorry, my _ex_ -girlfriend now-and my mom was going to chew me out. I managed to get to my room without any disturbance and closed the door softly. And then-

I just let it out. All the anger, all the sadness, all the emotions that were bottled up inside of me were let out. Man, did it feel good! I closed my eyes and concentrated on purifying myself.

When I opened my eyes again, my entire room was different. My entire _being_ was different. I felt different. There was something that I had done that I couldn't place.

Then, I realized.

I was _glowing._ Like literally _glowing_. My entire self was bathed in a red light and I was pumped up with adrenaline. I felt like I could do _anything._ I didn't understand a thing about what was happening. I seriously considered telling my mom about this stupid red light around me but before I could, it faded abruptly. I felt so confused. What had just happened? I walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. What I saw there shocked me. It wasn't my face. No, my features were the same: same raven black hair, same typical brown eyes, same slightly-tanned complexion. But what surprised me was the _symbol_ floating above my head. It was a picture of a red spear and shield. It faded after I had stared at the sign in the mirror for about five seconds. What was wrong with me? Why did I find some random symbol floating around the top of my head? What was this?

Then, from downstairs, I heard the front door slam shut. My stepfather had come home. I groaned out loud. I hated him. I _absolutely_ hated my stepfather. I never knew my father. I only had my mother and she was enough for me. When it was just me and her, we got along very well. But she had to make the decision to remarry and now I was suffering the consequences. He was like a marshmallow disguised as a cactus. My stepfather worked as an engineer, which I thought did not make sense, because he didn't seem all that smart. He was sweet to my mom, kissing her when he came home and cooking her her meals. But to me, he was a devil. He beat me, punched me and kicked me until my entire body was bruised. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst of it was that whenever I tried to tell my mom that he was the one destroying me, she wouldn't believe me. She just thought he was the nicest man in the whole _freaking_ world. Instead of telling her now, I just suffered through it all, keeping my protests on the inside. I loved my mother, but sometimes, she made such rash decisions. I would sacrifice everything for my mother, even my own pain tolerance. I would get tortured past my pain tolerance just for my mother. No one mattered as much as she did to me.

I heard him and my mom talk for a bit and he clomped up the stairs. I knew he was coming for me. Sure enough, my bedroom door opened and a shadow fell on the floor of my room. My jerk of a stepfather whispered loudly, "I'm coming for you, Aidan..."

He came inside the bathroom and I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain. My stepfather grabbed me by the ear and dragged me out into my room and punched me, causing me to stumble. Then he pushed me down to the ground and kicked me in the crotch. I curled up and groaned in pain. My stepfather kicked me again and said in a low voice, "Why did you ever say something to your mom about me hurting you?" _Kick_. "Huh, Aidan?" _Kick._ "What do you have to say about this?" _Punch._ "Do you think you're better than me? That you can just tell your mommy that someone hurt you? That makes me mad." _Punch._ "You'll get a special treat from me today, since you've been a naughty boy." MY stepfather grinned evilly.

"Please...don't hurt...me," I wheezed, blood trickling down from a cut on my cheek. "I won't tell...my mom."

"No, but you did tell your mom! That's what makes me want to give you a special treat, Aidan." My stepfather replied. "Every time you tell your mom about me hurting you, you'll get a special treat."

"No...please...don't..." My voice was lost to deaf ears as he began to give me the agony of my life. As he was kicking me, I began to feel it again. The same feeling of letting go and letting everything out. The same feeling of the adrenaline high. It filled me to the brim until I couldn't feel the pain anymore. I was suddenly kneeling on top of my stepfather, his shocked face on display. "Now you know how it feels like to be tortured!" I yelled at him. He actually looked scared for once, that idiot. I could barely see through my anger. "Do you know how it is to be tortured by a-a creature like you?!"

I gave him a beating that left him-my _grownup_ stepfather-in tears. But I wasn't done. I wanted to give him the beating of my life. I loomed above him, feeling stronger than I ever had before. I wanted to be overwhelmed with this high. But before I could destroy the monster of my nightmares, my mother rushed in. Her hair was perfect still, not a strand out of place. But her face was almost animalistic. She screamed at me, "What have you done to Michael?!"

I looked down at my stepfather and then back up at her. My adrenaline faded. I could feel the pain sapping my strength until I tiredly got off of my stepfather. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I can't do this." I packed a bag. "I can't be here with you if you decide to stay with this...idiot of a person."

Then, I slung the bag on my shoulder and walked to my bedroom door, opening it. I looked back at my beaten-up stepfather and my mother helping him. "If you want to be like that, Mom, I can't stop you. I love you, but...I can't live here anymore."

I walked out of the house, despite my mother calling my name. Then, I ran. I didn't care where I went, I just ran. I ran until I found an alleyway and caught my breath there. Sweat dripped down my face in the humid night air. New York was always so very hot. Something shifted behind the garbage bags a few meters away from me. I tensed and swore under my breath, thinking of how little weapons I had brought. Even so, I took out a small pocketknife and flicked it so that the knife flew out. I held it loosely, trying not to look crazy to anyone else looking into the alleyway. Not that anyone would look here. I slowly walked forward and said out loud, "Is anyone...there?" That was probably stupid of me.

The...thing or person behind the bags shifted again and I tensed even more, my body stiffening. "Yeah. I'm here." A weak voice called. That surprised me and made me drop my knife. A person crawled out from behind the bags and looked at me warily, his eyes looking from my face to the knife on the ground. "I don't want to harm you," the boy said. He was the same age as me.

"...Okay then. Who are you?" I asked, point-blank.

"I'm...Justin. Justin Lieu. Who are you?" He said amiably.

So specific, I thought. "I'm Aidan. Nice to meet you."

"Why would it be nice to meet me if I just met you?" He asked, tilting his head a bit. "Those expressions seem inferior, don't they?"

I looked at him, puzzled. This boy seemed like one of those geeks at my school, asking about this and about that. "I just say that because it's polite. No harm meant, okay? I'm sorry, man."

"Nah, that's okay. I go a little overboard sometimes." Justin replied.

We talked for about fifteen minutes. I liked him more each minute. This was the first friend I made (sad, I know). I was finally _not_ friendless. Justin took his bag from behind the bags of garbage and he said, "My father told me this just before he died: _Go to Camp Half-Blood_. I don't know what he means, but maybe we can find it together?"

I nodded. "That would be...great. Let's go."

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 **Justin's POV:**

If you had told me a month ago that I was a demigod with magical powers, getting the best time of my life, I would have smacked you.

Yet, you would've been right.

It all started when I was walking home from school. I was 14 years old with the rare double case of ADHD and dyslexia, so you could say I got bullied. A lot. I was cradling my shoulder, since some random jerk I didn't know slammed me into the locker.

The nurse sent me home with a note. My dad was at home, doing some house chores probably. I already knew he would be disappointed in me before I even saw him. I dragged my feet on the ground, a frown pasted on my face and my backpack weighing me down. I crossed the lawn of my house and stepped onto the porch, taking a deep breath. I mentally recited what I would tell him once I saw him. _Um, Dad, I know you're surprised that I'm home early, but I got hurt so the nurse sent me home._ Yeah, right. As if he would believe that.

Don't get me wrong. I love my dad to pieces. But sometimes, he doesn't get what I go through. All the bullying has made me weaker. I felt so small when I go to school. I wish I had friends. I never did have one, actually. Everyone avoided me like the plague, just because I was dyslexic, had ADHD, and was nerdy.

Did I not tell you that I was nerdy? I loved to read. Fiction, nonfiction, magazines, textbooks, newspapers-I would read them all. No, scratch that. I _tried_ to read them all. I was dyslexic so none of the English words made any sense. The words swam all over the pages, changing the letter "G" into the letter "O." I once got so frustrated at a book that I threw it across the room in anger. Of course, I went after it, checking to make sure it was damaged, or else I would have to pay my allowance for it again. No one liked me because I was nerdy, either. I looked like the stereotypical nerd too: framed glasses, a book in my hand and no friends around. Even the nerds at my school avoided me. I was the freak, the misfit of my school. I was never going to be normal.

Before I could raise my hand to knock, the door flew open. I took a step back, surprised, my gloomy thoughts of my life flying away. My dad stood in the doorway. "Um...is there any reason to why you just...opened the door before I knocked?" I asked awkwardly.

He shook his head. "No, son, I saw you in the window and came to open the door for you." But I could see in his eyes that he was hiding something. I decided to brush it away and stepped inside past him into the hallway of our house. I turned to look back at my dad, who had shut the door and made a gesture at the door: a clawed hand at his heart and pushing away towards the door. I didn't understand it. I had never seen him make that gesture. Was he hiding the fact that he had changed religion or something? We never were really religious though. What was my dad hiding?

I pretended that I didn't see the gesture and took my jacket off, hanging it on a clothes hanger in the closet and taking my shoes off. Then, before I could slide my backpack off, my dad took me by the arm. He led me to the kitchen and ordered in a tight voice, "Sit down. I have a lot to tell you."

I puzzledly sat down and asked, "Dad, is this really necessary? I need to get to my homework and you know it takes me how long to do it." In my mind I was silently cursing myself for the bad grammar in my poorly-formed sentences.

My dad nodded. "This is very important. Son, listen carefully."

I listened as closely as I could to my father's words. With every sentence my eyes grew wider and my breathing got shallower. When he finished, a few hours later in the afternoon, around 4:00pm, my eyes were bugging out and I was barely breathing. My father quickly told me, "Justin. Justin! Breathe. _Breathe_."

I inhaled and exhaled slowly, regaining oxygen into my bloodstream. "...Okay. I'm fine now. No, scratch that. I'm not fine, but my breathing is okay." I looked at my dad, who was currently looking at his fingers. "Um, Dad, are you saying...I am a...demigod? Which I never knew about? That you never told me? And...my mom is...a goddess? Named Athena?"

My dad nodded, ashamed. "I'm sorry Justin, but Chiron told me to keep your mother and who you really are a secret from you. I wanted to tell you. Justin, you don't know how many times I was tempted to tell you. But, everything that I told you now...is true. Athena is the goddess of wisdom. You get the brains from her."

Out of the corner of my eye from the kitchen window, a beautiful flaming-haired woman appeared. I turned my head to see her clearly but she had disappeared. My dad was staring out the window too, but his eyes were wide and his face was clearly frightened. He stood up quickly, making his chair fall over. I asked my dad, "What's the matter?"

He said quickly, "Justin, leave this house and never come back now." He rummaged around in a cabinet underneath the sink. He took out deadly sharp bronze knives and our family heirloom: a two-edged sword, one side gold and the other side bronze. He took all the books out of my backpack and put in some random things, like food, water and a plastic bag of yellow squares.

I was more confused now than ever. "Wait. What do you mean? I can't just leave you here. I don't know where to go!"

"No, Justin, you have to leave. _Now_ , Justin." He looked at me pointedly. "This is for your own good and safety."

"Dad, I don't know where to go! What do I do without you? How am I supposed to care for you? I can't live by myself at 14! I can't get a job and pay for myself at 14! Dad, just tell me what's going on!" I said desperately.

"Justin, _empousai_ are going to surround this house in a moment. That woman you saw in the window is an _empousa_ , and she can kill you. She's a monster of a sort, one of the many daughters of Hecate. They want you, not me. I'll be fine. I know how to fight them off and you don't. So, Justin, please leave now so you can be safe. The only thing that matters is that you be safe."

Tears brimmed in my eyes. "I can't let you die, Dad. You're the only one that cared for me. I can't care for myself! No one else is there for me!"

"You'll have to learn, son. I can't always be there for you."

Now, I could hear the _empousai_ banging on the walls of the house. My dad said sharply, "Go up the ladder to the attic and go to the roof. Then, you'll have to jump from roof to roof to the nearest place that has a fire escape so you can get down." He passed me a bronze knife. "If any of the _empousai_ go after you, you can fight them off with this. Just stab them and they'll disintegrate. The main thing is, Justin, get as far away as you can."

The banging got louder and I could hear screaming. But the only thing I focused on was my dad's face, burning it into my memory. He whispered, "Find Camp Half-Blood for me, Justin. You'll always be my son."

A fist punched through the wall and I jumped back. My dad yelled, "You have to go, Justin!" I ran up the stairs just as I heard the first _empousa_ barrel through the wall. They were amazingly fast. I heard my dad fighting the _empousai_ off and yelling at them. I swiftly brought the rope ladder down from the attic and climbed it with one hand, the other holding the bronze knife. As I got up, I heard my dad yell out in pain. I looked down from the attic hole, through the stair railings and I saw my dad, getting overwhelmed by the _empousai_. His scream was abruptly cut off and instead replaced by the feral screams of the _empousai_. They swarmed him. I gulped and turned away, my eyes filling. My dad was...dead. He sacrificed himself for me. I let the tears run down my face like a stereotypical girl crying after breaking up with her boyfriend (sorry for being sexist) and opened the door to the roof. I climbed out and let the bright sun's rays dry the tears on my face. I heard some distant screams. They were coming for me. I turned around and closed the door, locking it automatically. Then, I started running. No one knew this, but I was actually pretty good at running, since I had to get away from my bullies and such. I swiftly jumped from my roof to my neighbour's roof and kept running. This was a dangerous game of jump-on-the-roof-or-Justin-automatically-dies.

Out of curiosity, I looked behind me. And I regretted it as soon as I did. An _empousa_ was behind me, gracefully jumping from roof to roof and gaining speed as she ran. I quickly kept on going, trying to keep my balance and not fall and also trying to stay ahead of the _empousa._ I saw a fire escape in the distance, maybe ten houses ahead. I pushed myself to my limit, going as fast as I could. The _empousa_ got faster, and I could hear her calling out to me. "Oh Justin!" She sang. Good thing she wasn't like a Siren, or I was dead for sure. "Justin! You don't need to run away. We can just talk!"

I didn't reply. My endurance was wearing out and I was slowing down. I _had_ to stay ahead of this stupid monster. My dad had sacrificed himself for me and I was _not_ going to let him down. My sneaker tripped on the edge of the roof I was currently jumping off of and I knew I wouldn't make it. Even though I knew it, I still reached my hands out for the roof beside it. The tips of my fingers scraped the roof but I didn't catch it. I heard the _empousa_ howl in frustration and although I was probably going to die, I felt satisfied that I had, in fact, outran the _empousa_. I was freefalling. I just so happened to look down and I saw a busy street with many people milling around and cars everywhere. I was going to die in the most lamest way ever. Right after my dad had sacrificed himself for me, I was going to die.

I slammed into a glass canopy, shattering it and falling onto a stone balcony. I groaned in pain and staggered to my feet, blood dripping down my face and arms. I looked up and saw the freefalling _empousa_ coming straight at me. I raised my knife straight above me. I knew this was a bad idea, but I did it anyway. The _empousa_ landed straight on my knife and disintegrated into dust, screaming all the way. I looked around but no one was around to see that. I quickly scanned the area surrounding me. I saw how some of the bricks on this hotel was sticking out and I got a crazy idea. I wiped my hands on my pants a few times, trying to get it as non-slippery as possible. Then, I climbed over the balcony railing and edged towards the first brick, which was a foot away from me. It was big enough for two toes to step on it. But I stepped on it with my foot and grasped a brick sticking out above it with my hand. I slowly edged my way down the side of the wall, in front of everyone to see. I was like a modern-day Spider-man. I could see, out the corner of my eye, everyone staring and pointing at me. They were engrossed in watching me that they all stopped what they were doing before. Suddenly, I put weight on a suspicious-looking brick and it crumbled, leaving my foot hanging in the air. I inhaled sharply and looked around. The nearest brick was three feet away from me. I groaned out loud but stretched my foot over there. I was _not_ made for the splits. As I was making my way down the hotel the hard way, blood was trickling down my hands. My right hand slipped off the brick that it was holding onto and I began to fall backwards. I let out a yelp and scrambled to catch onto a brick with my left hand, but I couldn't get any. My feet fell off the bricks they were standing on and I was falling. _Again_. I screamed and scrabbled my hands against the hotel wall, desperately trying to find a handhold. Finally, the Gods were nice and found me one and I sighed in relief. I wiped my right hand and went back to climbing down the hotel wall.

Somehow, I made it down with no other mishaps. When I got down, everyone went back from staring at me to doing whatever they were doing before. I got by undetected and raced down an empty alleyway. It was around 6:00pm now and I wanted to sleep. My dad had said to get as far away as possible, but I was so tired. The entire day was so tiring. I found some random garbage bags and a Dumpster in the alleyway and thought it was perfect for me to stay for the night. I slid behind the Dumpster and closed my eyes. It was cool and dark there, and the thoughts in head flew away, my body slumping against the Dumpster and my head leaning on my backpack.

When I woke up, it was still nighttime. I checked the position of the moon in the sky and guessed that I had been asleep for about two hours. I looked around as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. All my belongings were still with me and my bronze knife was a foot away from my hand. I grabbed it and shifted my asleep foot. Then, I heard something. I froze in my tracks, barely daring to breathe. I heard someone say something in a quiet voice and the small _flick_ of a pocketknife. Was that person going to come kill me? I gripped my knife tighter.

A voice uncertainly called out, "Is anyone...there?" It was a male, no doubt.

I shifted again, crawling out from behind the Dumpster. "Yeah. I'm here." I replied awkwardly. I looked at him warily. He had black hair and a tense expression and his pocketknife was on the ground. I looked at him and then at the pocketknife, wondering what he was doing here. "I don't want to harm you." I started off.

He immediately asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm...I'm Justin. Justin Lieu. Who are you?" I answered. I hadn't talked to a boy my age in months and I couldn't even begin to describe how good it felt to talk to someone that was my age, even though we were strangers.

"I'm...Aidan. Nice to meet you."

"Why would it be nice to meet me if I just met you?" I asked, thinking about it. "Those expression seem inferior, don't they?"

The boy looked more confused than ever but he answered anyway. "I just say that to be polite. No harm meant, okay? I'm sorry, man."

I looked away embarrassed. I sounded stupider than I thought. "No, it's okay. I just sometimes go overboard."

For fifteen minutes straight, we talked. We often talked about school and how it was so boring and how all the jerks in the school were idiotic. We also talked about the Greek gods/goddesses. It seemed like he already knew most of these things, considering he told me that he had been claimed. But he kept asking me to repeat things that he should've already known since he was claimed. I hadn't been claimed and yet, I knew. Talking to Aidan was the longest spoken conversation I had ever had, even with my dad. I was beginning to see a beautiful friendship emerging. Then, I crawled behind the Dumpster again and grabbed my bag and knife. I asked my new friend, "My father told me this...just before he died: _Go to Camp Half-Blood_. I don't know what he means, but maybe we can find it together?"

He nodded and a light lit in his eyes, as if he remembered something. He didn't share it, but I guessed that he had heard of Camp Half-Blood as well. He finally said, "That would be great. Let's go."

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 **William's POV:**

Just a normal day for me. I slipped on my shoes, slung my bag on my shoulders and took my sister to elementary school, before I ran to the high school I was currently enrolled in.

My dad left my family when I was younger. I don't remember anything about him. The only thing that I knew about him was from my mom. She liked to remind me of how my trouble-making side came from him. It's not my fault I have ADHD and dyslexia. People just assume that I am a troublemaker. That is why the first three letters of "Assume" is "ass."

So my mom raised me for a few years and later got remarried when I was five. Now, as you can see, I have a nine-year-old step-sister. Life's good, for the most parts.

I had to run to school because I was late, but sadly my short stature doesn't help me, I'm a shoulder rest for everyone. It's not my fault for being so short. I just so happened to be extremely fast at running so I wasn't so late.

I ran to my first class of the day-English-and sat down next to a friend of mine: Nathan after the teacher scowled at me for being late. He's the only one that understands my problem of being short.

"Late again?" He snickered, writing down notes from the boring English lecture.

"You of all people should know that my strides are three times as short as a normal person." I whispered back, dropping my bag onto the ground, making a loud sound. It caused the teacher and several students to look at me, so I stared at the ground to avoid looking at them.

Nathan's like three inches taller than me, at 5'6, while I'm down staring at the shoulders at everyone at 5'3. You'd think a few inches won't make a difference, but, it does. Your friend who's just a bit taller than you can see past the shoulders, when I'm here just about to run into one. Life's never fair, isn't it?

The class went on slowly, like a elderly snail. The class was barely an hour long, but it felt like I had grown and shriveled up like an old person by the time the teacher dismissed us. In addition, ADHD didn't help me all that much in school. My teacher glared at me as I passed by her to get out of the English classroom.

I had business next. Urg what a weird class, like there's business and home ec, but there is no social studies. My school is kinda weird too.

You see, I'm 13. I'm supposed to be in eighth grade, but apparently the hospital scrambled up all the files so now I'm in ninth grade. It makes no sense whatsoever, but it's fine with me. I got to skip eighth grade. One less year to go to school.

I got to business, barely slipping in before the bell rang. I took my seat at the back. I'm not those people who slack off, it's just that the front row is for the people who are geniuses or the people with really bad eyesight. I'm lucky that I have perfect eyesight.

"William, can you answer the question on the board?" I look to the chalkboard where my teacher had, in tiny handwriting, put up a question. "How do stock brokers make their money?"

This question was stupid. I knew the answer so I replied to my teacher. I loved the teacher's expression when I said the right answer. She nodded and grumbled before turning to another student to ask a question about the international stock thingy.

I hate her, but the feelings are mutual between us.

I think it was that I played a prank on her in the very beginning of the year. She knows it was me, but there was no proof, so I got off scot-free. Now, to punish me in her own special way, she asks me questions every class.

The class ended and the teacher glared at me. I'm just lucky I have a B minus in the class as the teachers aren't allowed to purposely mark wrong to lower my mark. But I'm pretty sure she does though.

Last class before lunch. The dreaded Gym block. I manage to slip in the room and change without getting smacked in the head with a T-shirt or locker. Then, as I got out, I saw one of the main school jerks: Ryan. He was laughing with his friends about something or other and I remembered, all over again, when I had first met him. He was just another stranger to me but he strived to make my life hell. Good thing I didn't have any classes with him. If I did, my life would've been over the first few months that I was here.

After school, I was walking around, waiting for my mom to pick me up after picking up my sister. We had a dentist appointment at four and it was already 3:30pm. As I wandered around, I saw Ryan and his posse of cronies surrounding a short Asian girl. She was reaching for something that Ryan held out of her reach, her terrified face visible even from the distance where I was. She looked angry. She looked even angrier than my sister when I took something of hers. She yelled something I couldn't hear. Those jerks just kept on laughing.

Just as I was about to go over and stop those idiots, the temperature went to a freezing point. I looked up at the sky, confused. It was still as blue as it ever was, the sun still shining. But why did I feel the sharp sting of frost against my bare arms? As I looked on, flowers, grass and weeds turned black and disintegrated before my eyes. What the hell was happening? Ryan and his friends yelped and scrambled away. I saw the girl's horrified face before the principal ran outside, his face red and mad. He roared at her, louder than I ever heard him before, "I CAN SMELL YOU, HALF-BLOOD!"

What was a half-blood?

She started running away. The principal changed shape right before my eyes, and turned into a monster straight out of Greek mythology: the Cyclops. The principal didn't try going after her. He stopped and started sniffing the air. He turned his beady eyes to me and roared. "ANOTHER ONE?!"

I was frozen in place by fear. I didn't know what to do. I looked around desperately. Was there anything I could do to save myself? Nope. Nothing. I groaned out loud in frustration. The one-eyed monster roared and lowered its head, preparing to charge at me. My legs finally decided to start working. I decided to book it. I ran right at it. Yeah, I know. Not my best decision. But I ran right at it and at the last moment, swerved to the right, narrowly missing hitting his leg. The Cyclops roared again and turned heavily. By then I was at a random door that led inside to some part of the school and ran inside.

I found myself in the music room. The Cyclops was going to come in any minute and the door that I came in was the only way out. I cursed. I had the best luck in the world. I hid behind the piano, gripping a violin and a bow. Someone walked in and I peeked around the piano. It was the principal, in human form. He chuckled. "Oh, I know you're somewhere in here, half-blood. I can _smell_ you."

I shivered. What did he mean, _smell_ me? I had just taken a shower this morning. What did he mean? The footsteps came closer. "Ahh, your scent is stronger here. I haven't eaten in a while, little demigod. You'll do to satisfy my hunger." Did he want to _eat_ me?

The footsteps came right to the piano and stopped. My gut twisted in fear. I swallowed, my arms shaking. "Your fear is so delicious. I could feed off you forever." The monster said in a chilling voice.

Subconsciously, my hands began to work. The bow in my hand was put to the strings on the violin. I put my chin to the rest at the edge of the violin. I dragged the bow across the strings, emitting a long, beautiful note. Where did that come from? I had never been taught how to play the violin. What was this?

"Are you entertaining me before a feast? I will not object. This is some beautiful composition, little demigod."

Without really understanding what was happening, my hands played the violin, dragging out a soft melody, almost like a lullaby. The notes were quiet and soothing. The song I was playing stirred up memories. Memories of someone playing the lyre, making the melodies that I was making right now, but more harmonious. The monster involuntarily yawned. "I...I think...I think I'll have a little...nap before...dinnertime." He said. I heard snores and immediately knew he was sleeping.

I played a few more notes and stopped. My heart was pounding. Where did I learn to play like that? I crept out from behind the piano and stepped over the sleeping form of the principal. I ran outside, breathing a sigh of relief. I checked my phone. 4:16pm. I didn't see my mom's car anywhere. That was strange.

After ten minutes of waiting, I still didn't see my mom's car anywhere. But I heard the distant sound of my principal. He was awake and coming for me. This time, I didn't need to be reminded. I started running. I ran south, not knowing where I was going. Just knowing I needed to get away now. The principal roared after me. But I had had a head start and he wouldn't be catching up any time soon.

I ran right into someone. Like literally ran into someone. I knocked them over and tripped over their feet. "Dude! Watch out, man!" The voice called. It sounded familiar.

"...Nathan?" I asked, puzzled. "Where are you going?"

He stood up, brushing the dirt off his green sweatshirt. "The better question is where are you going. Aw, man, you got my sweatshirt dirty! Do you know how much this cost me?"

"Um...$20?" That's how much my sweatshirts cost me.

"No, William! I got this specifically designed for me! It cost me $50, and now you got it dirty! This sweatshirt is priceless and now you ruined it!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, okay?"

"I forgive you. Now, where were you going?"

"...I know this sounds weird, but I was being chased by the principal. Somehow he changed into one of the Greek mythology monsters, a Cyclops and started roaring and all that stuff. It sounds really weird, I know, and now I have no idea where I am."

"Wait. You've seen it too?"

"Seen what too?"

"The monsters."

"Of course I have, Nathan! I'm not blind!"

"We need to go. Now. They might be coming for us. We don't have a strong scent, not as strong as the others. Go, man, go! We have to get out of here now!" Nathan pulled on my T-shirt, half-dragging me as he ran.

"Okay, I'm coming! What's wrong, Nathan? I don't understand."

"I'll explain as we run."

As we ran, Nathan explained a lot to me. Half of the words I didn't understand. After he finished, I was dumbstruck. "Wait. Wait. _Wait._ So, I'm some random half-human, half-god being? With magical powers? And I have monsters on my tail?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right." He responded.

"That is amazing!" I whooped. "I've always wanted magical powers."

"It's not all magical powers and what-not, William. You have monsters on your tail. Like, real-life, eat-you-for-dinner monsters." Nathan said seriously.

"Oh." Now that he said that, I didn't feel as great. We ran for a bit more and then stopped for a break. It was fully dark out now and the only light that we used was from our phones and the moon. The light from Nathan's phone lit up his face in an eery way, shadowing his features to make him look sinister. "Nathan, you said that there were others...like us. Who are they?"

Nathan hesitated. "Well...you see, you're the only one I know that has your specialty: stealing and maneuvering around tricky situations. No one else that I know has your specialty."

"I don't care, man. That means I'm a special snowflake. Tell me about the others."

"I'm not allowed to, William. It's one of my...orders."

"Why not? And why do you have random orders? Is it someone from school, that told you not to tell? I'm your best friend, Nathan. You can tell me. I won't tell anyone."

Nathan looked uneasy. "No, it's not someone at school. I know them...from somewhere else."

"But if they're not at school, then why the secrets? We never hide things from each other, Nathan." I felt hurt.

Nathan looked really guilty but he didn't say anything. Finally, he said simply, "I'm sorry, all right? But I can't tell you. All I can say is that there are others that are like you."

I frowned in silence. We never hid things from each other. Now, he was the one to hide? Nathan made this friendship happen. He started it all, and now he was ending it with me? How rude.

I could sense that Nathan kind of knew that I was upset with him and I heard him say, "William, when I get you there, you'll understand. This is just confidential. I can't tell anyone about them. Some hidden person could be hiding among those bushes and hear what we're saying. We can't spill the other people's secrets."

I sighed. Nathan did have a point. "Okay fine. Instead of telling me about the others, how about you tell me about yours. What's your ability?"

Nathan looked away. "I don't like to talk about mine." He said in an embarrassed voice.

"It's all right, Nathan. Nothing can be worse than mine. I'm just a thief."

"No, if you heard mine, then you'll think you are blessed. Mine's not as flashy as anyone else's or really, all that useful."

"Just tell me, man. I'm your best friend. I've been your best friend for like, how many years? Eight? Nine? You know I don't spill secrets."

"Okay fine..." I could tell he was finally relenting. "Well, I'm different. My ability doesn't come from my hands, or my brain or whatever. Instead, my ability comes from my voice."

"So you mean you have an amazing singing voice?"

"No...but you're close though. I can...charmspeak."

"What the hell is 'charmspeak'? Can you charm people through your spoken voice?"

"...Yeah basically. I can make people do things against their will just by talking to them."

"No...try me, man. Try me."

"All right...if you want to." His voice changed. It somehow became sugar-coated with honey, dripping with caramel. "Cluck like a chicken."

I started squawking like a chicken, flapping my arms like wings. He told me to stop in the same honey-coated voice and I stopped. My eyes widened. "No way, Nathan, you can hypnotize people into doing whatever you want them to do?"

"No...well yeah...sort of."

"That's better than mine. I can steal. Nothing much about that."

"Everyone's ability is significant in some way. Don't speak like that."

"Fine. Fine. I won't." In my head, I chanted, ' _I have the worst ability yet_.'

"Now, let me take you to someplace that can hone your abilities..."

And we were off running again, the light from the moon and from our phones the only thing guiding our way.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

 **Nathan's POV:**

I ran purposefully with William, looking over at him every once in a while. He was the first demigod that I had talked to about his unique side. It was an accident really; I hadn't meant to tell him. Chiron had told me not to tell any demigod what they were until they were safe at Camp Half-Blood. But now, William knew. I could see that he wasn't really satisfied with his own gift through the unhappiness in his eyes. He thought everyone else was better than him. William didn't really have much of a reaction to my words. He took it all in as if it were an everyday thing, which it definitely was not. I didn't understand why, but I didn't ask.

After about fifteen more minutes of silence, I couldn't take it. "William...why are you so...unresponsive to this? I have never met someone like you, someone who acts like they don't care what's going on."

He hesitated and then said, "I guess it's just because...it seems like I was supposed to be one of the so-called 'half-bloods' you're mentioning. It sounds like I should be one and that I shouldn't be surprised. I don't know. My mind is maybe just messed up."

His explanation made sense. "Anyway, when we get to Camp Half-Blood, you'll be safe there. Then, I'll go get the other demigods and bring them to Camp Half-Blood safely as well." I said to him. "Maybe you'll be friends with them too."

He shrugged. "Maybe." Involuntarily, he yawned and checked his phone. "My phone's about to die. And I wanna sleep. Can we continue on next day? I'm dead tired on my feet."

I looked down at my phone too. There was only about 34% left. "I guess we can continue on tomorrow morning."

When William's head hit the ground, he was asleep. I was not sleepy in the least so I took first watch and leaned against the tree. The moon was shining so brightly that I could see more than five feet in front of me. I mentally went through my task checklist that Chiron had given me to ensure the safety of the demigods. Watch over the demigods. _Check._ Keep them safe. _Check._ Tell one of them what they really were. _Check._ Bring any demigod to camp. I was still on that one, bringing William. I was well down on my task list. At this rate, I would finish in no time.

My goddess mother had not given me any tips or whatever. All she did was claim me and she basically ignored me, as if I was nothing to her. It was bad enough that I was the son of the goddess of love. If word of that got out, I would be ridiculed for sure. But even worse, she never paid me any attention. Chiron was the only one that had felt like family to me. My stepmother and my two stepbrothers were at home, happy to finally have gotten ridden of me. I never fit into my family. When my dad died when I was ten, my stepmother and my stepbrothers basically took over the household and made me do everything. I know, it sounds like a modern-day reversed-role Cinderella. I finally gave up on my life and ran away, with only a backpack of my things. I ran using only my heart to guide me. Somehow, I found Camp Half-Blood and Chiron had taken me in. I was sent out at thirteen, given the task to find other demigods and bring them to camp. I would have to find the other four demigods that I had found at each of the schools I watched over after I brought William to camp.

I stared up at the bright, half-moon, thinking of my mother. I whispered, "Could-could you give me some sort of...sign? Maybe something that can help me on my trips so my tasks will be easier? Or maybe something that is special to me, that I can just relate to you so that I know I'm actually a son of a goddess of love? I know I never asked for anything, mother, but now I'm asking. Could you please?"

There was no response. I hadn't expected one, but I hoped that my mother would heed my requests. My eyelids felt heavy all of a sudden and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I leaned against the tree and closed my eyes, falling into sleep, hoping for no dreams.

 _Something was chasing us. Something black and smoky with long tentacles out of its mouth. "Come on, come on!" I yelled. "We have to go now!" I tugged on her hand. "We must leave. Come on, we have to leave before it catches us. We have to find our friends too."_

 _She nodded. I couldn't tell who she was. Her face was shadowed by the dim light of the maze. "Yeah, let's go. We have to find them."_

 _We ran and ran but it seemed like we were getting nowhere while the 'thing' was coming closer. "Come on!" I said desperately. "We can't die!"_

 _Her hand slipped from my grasp. She seemed to be going backwards. "Wait. Hey! Come back!" I reached back for her, but she kept getting farther and farther away. "Hey! Come back, we need to get to our friends!"_

 _She shook her head. "No, Nathan, I have to sacrifice myself. If the monster is occupied with me, you'll get away. You can find our friends for me. This is necessary. This is my last stand, Nathan."_

 _"No! Please!" I begged, but she was too far away. She got swept up into the monster's mouth, the black tentacles wrapping around her. She wasn't even screaming. She made no sound at all._

 _Suddenly, a new sound brought me to my senses. "Wake up!" A new voice yelled. "Wake up!"_

I woke up, my hand gripping onto the dirt. I looked up and the sun was shining. I cringed away from the sun and blinked a few times to clear the black spots. William swam into view and he said, "That was just a dream, Nathan. Nothing real. You didn't have to scream. Especially in charmspeak."

I grimaced. Sometimes I did that in my sleep, when I was distressed or upset. "Sorry, man. It's just...natural for me."

"We gotta go too. I can feel something in the air. I don't know what. I can just sense something."

I got up with the help of William and brushed myself off. I looked at the direction of the sun in the sky. I had never been good at telling time, but even I could tell that it was the early afternoon already. We walked through the woods some more and it became more familiar to me now. I smiled and my step became quicker. "Hey! Wait up for me, Nathan!" William called, five steps behind me. "You're my best friend. You should know that my stride is shorter than everyone else's."

I slowed. "Sorry. I kinda forgot."

William caught up and he said, "Where's the fire coming from, Nathan? You're going so fast. What's up?"

"No, we're close to camp. I can see it in our surroundings."

We ran together through the woods, me in the lead by about two steps. I swerved through the trees, and ducked under branches. This part of the woods was quite familiar to me, as I had ran through it a million times since I had come to Camp Half-Blood. I emerged through the leaves to see the entrance of the camp. "Here...is Camp Half-Blood." I announced to William.

He was awestruck. "Wow..." He breathed. "I didn't know it was so...pretty here."

"It gets better."

We walked inside and he was immediately rendered even more speechless. The strawberry fields were blooming with strawberries and the sun was out, shining. Campers in orange T-shirts ran around, laughing and tackling each other. I walked with William to the Big House and went inside. I called, "Chiron?"

A kind-looking man in a wheelchair came rolling around the corner. I said to William, "This is Chiron, the director of the camp."

Chiron smiled at me. "I see you're looking quite fit, Nathan. And who's this gentleman beside you?"

"He's William, one of the demigods you told me to find. Can I leave him with you so I can go get the other demigods?"

Chiron shook his head, smiling. "Nathan, my boy, you don't need to. They're already here, driven by their parents or just found their way here by themselves. You can find each of them in this camp. Now, Nathan, please leave William and I to confer. There is much to discuss."

I nodded obediently and left. I walked over to the cabin site and went into my cabin. I slipped into the bathroom, showered and changed into a fresh orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. I had to see if the other four half-bloods that I had been asked to retrieve were actually here.

I spotted Nerissa with Will, in the medical area, tending to some wounded person. She seemed to be watching him, learning how to become a practised medic like Will. She nodded along, often pointing and asking. He nodded and smiled and explained to her. Okay. So there was one half-blood down, three more to find.

I found Aidan sword-fighting with Justin, trying to see which sword he liked best. He tried using a spear and found that he could fight better with it. He took Justin down after a few minutes of concentrating on battling. I could almost see Justin's mind whirring, trying to use the best attack and defence tactic to win. That was good. Three half-bloods down, one more to go.

I finally found Amanda after fifteen whole minutes of searching. She was sitting alone on a rock overlooking the calm water, her hands pressed to the rock, forming ice crystals on it. I guess that was part of her power, because ice usually was referenced with darkness.

There. That was everyone. Chiron was right. All the other half-bloods had come here without my help. I was free of all my tasks.

Nighttime came. I ate with the Aphrodite cabin, occasionally glancing over at the overcrowded Hermes table. The five new demigods there were my responsibility. Aidan and Justin were laughing together, talking. They seemed to know each other from before. William was listening to Connor and Travis talk about the best way to steal. Nerissa and Amanda were both staring into space, zoning out. Nerissa seemed somewhat reserved. When I tried to talk to her, she would evade all my questions about her past and instead focus on a new, harmless subject. Amanda, however, detested speaking to other people. She preferred to be alone with her thoughts. The last time I tried to talk to her, she basically just ignored me and all my questions. She wouldn't answer and wouldn't speak. It was hard to talk to her.

After dinner, we all had free time. I was showing the five new demigods around, trying to befriend them. Befriending new demigods were like trying to handle a couple of five-year-old kids throwing tantrums.

As I explained to them how the gods claimed their half-blood children, Aidan kept making sarcastic remarks, like "Oh, _of course_ they would still care about us even though they don't claim us" and "Oh my God, is this really all _that_ necessary to know?" and "This is just wasting my time."

I tried to be patient with him but I could feel myself getting fed up with his behaviour. When I was telling them about our Oracle, Rachel, he made another rude remark and Amanda snapped, "If you don't want to listen, Sarcastic, then _don't_. We don't need your stupid remarks." A black wisp of smoke curled around her hand, a definite sign that she was more annoyed than she let on.

"Okay, okay!" Aidan replied, holding his hands up in surrender. "Jesus Christ. I wasn't doing anything wrong."

Amanda glared daggers at him and I could definitely see some bad blood here. They were probably not going to become good friends or even friends. I could tell Amanda didn't even want to tolerate him. As I tried to tone down the tension between the two demigods (fights between two half-bloods almost always ended in bloodshed), I heard Justin ask, "Um...Nathan? What's this above William's head?"

I turned towards Justin and saw a winged shoe above William's head. He was staring up at it in fascination. Amanda and Aidan stopped their bickering for a moment to watch the sign slowly fade away. I said, "Okay, William, you have been claimed. You know how I was just talking about how the gods claimed their children? Well, William, you're one of the lucky ones. Most demigods get claimed at 13 or 14, but some get claimed later. You are the son of Hermes, the messenger god. You stay in the Hermes cabin. I have to tell Chiron."

The glint that was in William's eyes when he was happy faded. He seemed...sort of sad that he was son of Hermes. He shrugged and replied, "All right. I guess I'll go and ask Connor and Travis what to do." He left, going to the cabin site.

I said to the other four demigods standing with me, "Do whatever you want, but be in the Hermes cabin by ten. You don't want to get caught outside after that, since the harpy patrol will shred you." I left to the Big House, where Chiron normally resided.

Chiron was outside on the porch, sipping a drink. I ran to him and he smiled at me. "Is something the matter, Nathan?" He asked in his kind voice.

"Yeah, William just got claimed by Hermes," I said breathlessly. "His sign is a winged shoe."

Chiron nodded. "I suspected he was the child of Hermes. Tell him his major ability-to run at the speed of light. It will make him feel better."

I nodded and retreated from the Big House, and bade Chiron good night. Then, I raced to the Hermes cabin and asked a cabinmate there to speak to William alone. They let me in and I saw William huddled on a bunk in the corner, hugging his knees to his chest. I sat down beside him and said simply, "You're not happy here."

He looked up, startled. "Now, why do you think that?" He asked sarcastically. "Of course I'm not happy here. There's no real major power that comes from being the son of the messenger god. Everything comes from the others."

"You don't really think that, do you?" I asked, shocked. I had never heard a demigod not like who their godly parent was.

"No, not really." He sighed. "It's just...everyone else's just seems better than mine."

"Okay, would you feel better if I told you that you do have a major power?"

"Of course I would. That would let me boast to other people. But there's nothing to boast, is there?"

"Oh, no, there is. You are the son of Hermes. He is the god of many things. If you had gotten a sack of gold coins above your head, that would mean that you specialized in stealing."

"But I got a winged shoe. That's not a sack of coins, Nathan."

"No, it isn't. Getting a winged shoe as a sign means that you can run at the speed of light. Basically, teleportation. It's an amazing power. A long time ago, maybe a few months before you came, Chiron was telling all the campers about the different types of Hermes kids there could be. It was a new thing that we had discovered."

His eyes widened and the corners of his lips curled upwards. "Are you sure? That I can almost...teleport places?"

"Yeah, basically. You're like the Flash."

"Awesome!" He smiled widely and said, "Thanks for that pep talk, Nathan. I _do_ have something to boast about now."

"No problem, William. And also" I leaned closer to him and whispered, "I think that you may be the only one here that can run at the speed of light. No one in a long time has had the ability to run like the Flash."

He smiled and said, "This is so awesome. Thanks, Nathan, again."

I stood up, smiling slightly. "Anytime, William. Anytime." Then, I left for the Aphrodite cabin.

The very next day, we were practising sword-fighting. The entire camp was testing what the six new demigods' responses to war was. I watched Aidan, William, Justin, Amanda and Nerissa sword-fight each other. I noticed that Nerissa seemed to fight better when she was throwing something, since she had deadly accurate shots. I gave her a slingshot and a few barbed stones dipped in poison carefully. I said, "Hit it at the dummy from ten feet away."

She hit the dummy straight in the chest with each stone, searing a hole through the chest. Then, I noticed Aidan wielding a large double-edged Imperial Gold Roman broadsword. He fought pretty well, using different techniques that I certainly did not teach him, like jabbing the sword at Justin and then head-butting him in the stomach. Justin groaned in pain, clutching his stomach. "Wow, Aidan, is that necessary? I just had lunch!" He moaned.

"Sorry, man. A dude's gotta do what he's gotta do to win." Aidan replied. "Here, let me help you up." He offered a hand and Justin gladly took it, pulling on Aidan's strength to get up. In his other hand was a thin sword; the rapier. Justin could fight with anything, really. He didn't need a special one or anything like that.

Amanda, however, was a different story. I didn't understand how, but she knew how to fight strategically as well as move fast. One second she would be contemplating what to do and the next she would have you pinned down, pointing her Celestial Bronze dagger at your throat. She was almost a match for Annabeth. Of course, Annabeth had had lots of experience so she took her down. But it was a really close fight, to be honest. Annabeth stood up and helped Amanda up. "I'm pretty sure you could be my sibling. You seem to know things without someone telling you what to do," She complimented.

Amanda shrugged, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "Thanks, I guess. You're pretty good at seeing all my weaknesses." I could see that she already idolized Annabeth, wanting to be like her. Annabeth showed her different ways to hold the knife so that the knife could be thrown faster. Amanda mimicked her moves and I could see that those two could become possible friends.

As Aidan fought with Justin and Amanda discussed war strategies with Annabeth, Amanda and Aidan got claimed. At the same time and same place. How unusual. Nothing like that had happened since I had come to Camp Half-Blood at eleven years old. Aidan found himself staring at a red war helmet above his head. I knew at once who had claimed him. Ares. I guess that did fit him. He was hotheaded, and fought really well. Chiron announced, "Aidan, you are the son of Ares, the god of war, sibling to Athena, lover of Aphrodite. Hail, son of war." Everyone stood up and bowed to him.

Amanda's sign was something I had never seen before. It was a black scythe, dripping some black ooze or whatnot. It seemed to last longer, imprinting on my brain even though it only lasted for a few seconds. Everyone was staring at her and I could see Amanda squirming uncomfortably under the attention. Everyone was rendered speechless. Even though I had never seen the sign before, I had an instinctual feeling that she was somehow Kronos's kid. But he was dead by the time Percy was 14 or 15, before she even knew about the camp. How could this be?

Amanda looked around at everyone, frowning in slight confusion. "Is everything...okay?" She asked, puzzlement clear in her voice. "I don't know what's wrong."

Chiron cleared his throat. "Sorry, Amanda. We're all...quite as shocked as you are, but not for the same reason. I-"

Leo, being the one who always interrupted people, interrupted Chiron. "Is she the daughter of...Kronos? I mean, when did Kronos have time to be smitten with another person?"

Chiron grimaced. "I don't think so, but I could be wrong. If she was the daughter of Kronos, however, that would mean she is a demi-titan and that is not a real thing; it's only a myth. So, she couldn't be a daughter of Kronos." Then what daughter was Amanda?

William spoke. "I think...I think she could be the daughter of Hades." Chiron looked at him. "And why is that, William?" Chiron asked.

William shrugged. "I mean, I saw her do this darkness thing where everything within a twenty-meter radius died and disintegrated. The temperature dropped to freezing, so I guess...she could be a daughter of Hades?"

Chiron shook his head. "I see what your point is, but a Hades child would not do that. Yes, the freezing temperature occurs when a Hades child is angered, but through what I have seen right now, she doesn't seem like a Hades child. But...perhaps we may try?"

Chiron turned to Amanda. "Amanda, could you please try summoning diamonds from the ground?"

Amanda looked bewildered. "How...do you summon... _diamonds_ from the...ground?"

"Just focus all your power into doing so. Concentrate on pulling the gemstones from the ground."

Amanda closed her eyes and concentrated, but nothing happened. She definitely wasn't a child of Hades then. Chiron looked at her thoughtfully and said, "Then there is only one other god who has claimed her."

Whispers ran around the crowd of people, wondering who the mystery god was. I myself was wondering that, too. Chiron cleared his throat and everyone fell silent. "All these special gifts that she is exhibiting is quite unnatural for any other god besides the god of...death. Or other known as, Thanatos."

Oh! So she was claimed by the actual god of _death_ , not Hades, the god of the _dead_. They were different. Murmurs of agreement swam through the crowd. Chiron looked at Amanda and said, "We will have to build a cabin for your godly parent. Thanatos has not shown a liking to mortal women in a long time. But for now, you may stay in the Hades cabin. Tomorrow, we'll help you harness your abilities."

Amanda nodded and Chiron said, "Everyone is dismissed." The crowd dispersed, chatter immediately starting back up as they walked away. Amanda faded into the crowd too, blending in so well, almost seeming invisible. I wondered what Nerissa and Justin's godly parents were. Justin, I thought he could be the son of Athena, since I watched him fight and it was all based on strategy. Nerissa was hard to distinguish. She didn't seem to have any strategy to her fighting yet she somehow made it work. I guessed she could be the daughter of Apollo or his son Asclepius, since she seemed to have taken an interest to being a medic here at Camp Half-Blood. And she did hit her targets straight-on, with deadly accurate precision.

The next morning, I could see everyone was at hard work, honing their abilities. Today was a work day, meaning some of us were going to just practise while others went into the outside world to fight monsters. We were more careful now, training people before letting them out into the real world. There were monsters everywhere now and we couldn't have them infiltrating our campsite.

I was given the duty to help tend to the sick with Will. I walked into the medic station and saw Nerissa already there, helping Will with a wounded person. She was handing him sterilized gauze and needles, as well as other things. When she wasn't giving him anything, she was watching intently, her eyes focused on what Will was doing. I sauntered over and watched. "Hey Nathan," Will said without looking up. "Glad to see you here. Hey, Nerissa, can you pass me the disinfectant?"

Nerissa looked up to see me and smiled. Her murky brown-green eyes twinkled with happiness as she reached for the disinfectant bottle in the cabinet above the sickbed. "Hey Nathan. This place is awesome. The medics here are so talented. I want to learn to be one." She said.

I smiled. "Glad to know that you like it here."

Nerissa passed the bottle to Will who poured a bit of the disinfectant onto a piece of gauze and wiped something off the wounded person. Nerissa then opened her hand and somehow, a few squares of ambrosia appeared in her palm. She fed it, piece by piece, to the wounded person. The cuts slowly faded away, leaving the person's skin smooth. I looked at Nerissa, surprised. "How-"

Will answered, "I noticed this a few days ago. She could manifest ambrosia and nectar out of nowhere. I think she might be-" he lowered his voice so that only I could hear, "I think she might be Asclepius's kid. She hasn't been claimed, but I'm guessing it's Asclepius who fathered her."

I looked at Nerissa. She was pretending that nothing was wrong and that we weren't whispering about her in front of her. Immediately, I felt guilty and asked her, "Nerissa, who's your mortal parent?"

"It's my dad." She answered quickly.

I looked at Will strangely and he gave me the same look. How could two men...give birth to a daughter? Will just shook his head and shrugged. "Whatever. We can worry about this another time. I wanna go and take a break. Nerissa, you've been a big help. Thanks for coming in and helping."

She smiled. "No problem, Will. I love helping wounded people get healthy again." She left, after washing her hands.

I bade Will goodbye too and left, surveying other people.

I stumbled across Amanda and Nerissa speaking near the edge of the water, on the rock that I saw Amanda on yesterday. They seemed really into it. That was a huge shocker. I hadn't seen Amanda speak to anyone with more than a few broken one-word phrases. But now? She was fluently _speaking_ to someone else? What was in the change of heart?

I crept closer until i was in earshot of what they were saying. I couldn't get any closer or they would definitely see me. I heard some words, like "...of course we can...no, not like that...no, never thought of it...yes that would be okay..." None of it made sense. I gave up trying to listen. This was too hard.

Then, a shining sign floated above Nerissa's head. It was a picture of a golden cup and I immediately knew who it was. Hebe, the goddess of youth. That was why she could manifest ambrosia and nectar! It could keep a demigod from dying, that's for sure. Amanda jumped down from the rock, landing on her feet like a pro and strode over to me. "Hey, Nathan!" She called.

"Yo, what's up?" I asked as she came up to me.

"Do you see that sign? She's being claimed." She informed me, pointing behind her at Nerissa's head.

"I know that." I raced to Chiron, yelling, "Nerissa got claimed! Nerissa got claimed!"

I found Chiron in the archery range, shooting arrows. Chiron had heard me from a mile away and came, galloping to me. Nerissa and Amanda were right behind me. Their faces were both barely pink, unlike my face, which had sweat all over it. I internally cursed myself and thought, 'I'm going to have to have a whole new makeover once I get back.' Chiron said, as he reached me, "Nathan, I heard you. Nerissa got claimed. Who claimed her?"

I gasped, struggling for air as I spoke, "She got...claimed...by Hebe..."

Chiron nodded thoughtfully. "How interesting. First it was Amanda, who was claimed by Death itself. Now, Nerissa, claimed by the only goddess of youth-Hebe. I can't help feeling like this has to be connected somehow..." He shook it off. "No matter. Nerissa, your goddess mother is Hebe, the goddess of youth. That explains why you can somehow manifest ambrosia and nectar out of thin air. There is already a cabin made for you-it's behind the Apollo cabin and the cabin number is 18. You have two brothers and one sister living there already; they'll welcome you in. They've been wanting to have a new sibling for ages. You may move your things there whenever you like."

Nerissa spoke. "Can I-can I move it now?"

Chiron nodded. Then, Amanda spoke. "May I...help Nerissa move her things?"

Chiron looked surprised but nodded. "Why not? I'm glad to see you...helping others." He said carefully. I was shocked too. This was the first time I had seen Amanda ask to help someone else. This was the first time that I had seen her help others. Whenever she was told to help others, she would say she was busy and ask for another person to do it for her. But now? She was _voluntarily_ helping Nerissa? How peculiar...

They left together, their chatter starting up again once they had gone out of earshot. I looked at Chiron. He was staring after Nerissa and Amanda, thinking. "This is very strange..." Chiron mused out loud. "I had never seen four demigods get claimed consecutively in only two days, especially with the new ones. I can't help feeling...there is something connecting the four of them. Maybe Justin...the one that hasn't been claimed yet...will be part of it too. I don't know..."

Then, Chiron seemed to notice me there, standing awkwardly as he thought to himself. "I'm sorry, Nathan, that was uncalled for. You are dismissed. You may do whatever you like until lunch." Chiron trotted away on his elegant stallion legs, still talking to himself. I walked the opposite way, back to the stadium, where Justin was. I needed to go and watch him, after all that Chiron had said.

Chiron was right. Justin was claimed this afternoon. He was watching Annabeth use blueprints to design a new cabin for Thanatos, Amanda's godly parent. Justin pointed an error that was so minuscule I didn't see it until he pointed it out. "This is supposed to be 46 degrees, not 45. 28+18 does not equal 45." Justin informed Annabeth factually.

She looked at her angle again and checked it with a calculator. "Ohh, that makes sense! Thanks." She erased her angle and made it one degree bigger. "That would've made such a huge difference, that one angle."

Justin nodded. "It would. Hey, do you know any places where I can use a super-fast computer to graph a parabola? Because I'm trying to design something..." I couldn't hear the rest because I had fallen asleep. As you can see, I did not do well in math.

"Yo! Man! Wake up, there's something for you to see, Nathan!" Someone shouted. I startled and my eyes flew open, almost falling on my butt. I had dozed off while I was standing, listening to the boring conversation of math equations and whatnot. My eyes immediately drifted to Justin's head, where a grey owl sign was floating. Justin looked at it, obviously thinking hard. "Do you think that this owl used a parabola in the stomach or on the curve of the head?"

"Justin, you can't worry about that now. You-" I got cut off as Chiron trotted over. Everyone raced over to see who Justin was the son of. Chiron announced to the crowd, "Justin, you have been claimed by Athena, the goddess of wisdom, of war. She was born from the head of the greatest god, Zeus. Please hail the son of wisdom herself."

Everyone bowed, including me. Justin just looked around awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Um, I guess that's...good?" He said uncertainly.

"Are you kidding? That's amazing!" I said. "You can move into cabin 6. I'll help you, mate. There are computers there where you can graph your Periboia or whatever."

"No, it's parabola..."

"Whatever man, deal with Periboia."

The crowd dispersed. I stood with Justin. Chiron just smiled tiredly and said, "You may help him get comfortable in the Athena cabin." He cantered away on his four legs, muttering about how the five new demigods (Justin, Amanda, William, Aidan and Nerissa) were connected in some way. I turned to Justin and said, "Hey. I'll help you unpack. Let's go."

We walked away, towards the cabins.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

 **Third Person's POV:**

 _Enter Hell, the place where crystal ice is formed in the sea_

 _The daughter of Death itself is the final key_

 _When the oldest of the old primordial has been seized_

 _Nothing is ever going to be back at ease_

 _Once a son of the Thief, now a betrayer_

 _Can only be changed by its creator_

 _One mistake from Youth's Pride is all it takes_

 _To place the only earth we have known at stake_


End file.
